The Cunning Little Vixen (Neumann) (1993)

"Janácek's instinct and sympathy for rural life comes most clearly into focus with The Cunning Little Vixen (Brno, 1924), in which he transformed a newspaper cartoon strip into an affirmation of the cycle of life. Of course the rustic characters and the various animals and birds, who together comprise the cast list, afford splendid opportunities for designers. But the music is inspired too, in particular the glorious sunrise sequence and the moving conclusion in which the young vixen appears and succeeds her dead mother, thus confirming the renewal of life. Václav Neumann's recording with the Czech Philharmonic and an all-Czech cast dates from 1979, during his extended tenure as chief conductor. The recording is nicely balanced if without quite the sheer impact of the EMI and Decca versions, but there are compensations in abundance, largely because the Czech singers bring such sensitivity to the text, working very much as a team. 4/4 " (...)(musicweb-international.com)

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